This invention relates to display terminals and more particularly to a versatile display terminal having the capability to operate independently of a central computer.
In the past, most display terminals were designed to operate in conjunction with a central computer. An example of such a terminal is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,417 which issued to Stifle.
A display terminal that operates in conjunction with a central computer is sometimes required to wait for the central computer to finish communications with other display terminals since it is not practical to have only one display terminal operating in conjunction with one central computer. In an educational or instructional application, many terminals may be required. It will therefore be appreciated that it would be desirable to have display terminals with the capability to complete an entire instructional session or routine without periodic communications with the central computer.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a display terminal which has the capability to function without continuously being connected to a central computer.
Another object is to provide a vector generator which does not employ a comparator to determine when the final point of the vector has been reached.
A further advantage of the present invention is to provide a terminal display adaptable to various functional requirements such as interface formats, alternate command structures, and various performance capabilities.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a display terminal that has the capability of being programmable so that it helps ease the capacity requirements on a central computer.
Yet a further object is to provide a method of generating a vector that does not require comparing a present address with a final address to determine when the final vector point has been reached.